Gen Z and Millennials on Pinterest reveal what’s inspiring their post-pandemic shopping

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Gen Z and Millennials, the audience segments driving the majority of Pinterest’s new user growth, are turning to Pinterest to shop for products that reflect their desire for fresh looks and new things. While both generations are looking to shop for fresh colours, new looks, and ways to revamp their homes, their searches on Pinterest reflect how their taste in styles and ideas differ. 

As lockdowns ease and communities reopen, people want to make the most of their regained freedom and are coming to Pinterest for shopping inspiration to mark the moment. Both generations are discovering ideas and products to express a fresh outlook and optimistic feeling through searching and saving products that demonstrate an excitement for new beginnings.

In the UK, people who visit Pinterest monthly outspent non-Pinners by +40% every month and have a 30% larger basket size. 1

Gen Z and Millennials shopping searches in the Pinterest Shop Tab - a new way to discover shoppable Product Pins -  reflect the trends that appeal to both audiences as well as the specific products across three of our top categories: beauty, fashion and home.

Pinterest Shopping Trends

Colourful beauty: soft for GenZ, bright for Millennials 2

  • Eyes: Gen Z is shopping for pastels and light colours such as  “mint makeup” (7x greater), “makeup looks with white eyeliner (4x), and candy inspired makeup (4x), while Millennials are shopping for “blue liner makeup looks” (11x), “red eyeshadow makeup” (17x), and “green and gold eyeshadow looks” (8x).
  • Lips: Gen Z is about glossy natural looks such as “pink lip gloss” (7x) and “brown lip gloss” (5x) while Millennials are going glittery and bold with “glittery lips” (13x) and “brown lipstick shades” (9x). 
  • Nails: Gen Z is shopping for press-ons and designs such as “summer pastel nails” (60x) and “lavender nails with design” (17x) and millennials are shopping for “bright summer acrylic nails” (154x) and “rainbow cow print nails” (11x).
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The reopening wardrobe: rebellious looks for Gen Z, flowy looks for Millennials

  • Known as the generation who leads the trends and challenges the norms, Gen Z is shopping for rebellious looks searching for “androgynous summer fashion” (31x greater), “pants with patches” (17x) and “black leather shorts outfit summer” (18x). And, they are straying from mainstream high waist jeans and are bringing "low cut jeans outfits" (17x) back. After the success of the “clay ring”, they are now shopping for “cute clay earring ideas” (30x). 
  • Millennials are also finding their re-opening style but they are more slowly moving away from the sweatpants by going for comfortable and flowy looks to pair with their bright makeup. They are shopping for "flowery skirt outfit" (65x), "work polo shirt outfit women " (44x) "flowy blouse outfit" (44x) and are pairing bright beauty with light or pastel outfits such as "beige jeans outfit casual" (37x) and “lavender shoes outfit” (18x)
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Home shopping for Y2K vibes: pastel rooms for Gen Z, pops of colours for Millennials

  • “Room decor Y2K” is a shop trend for both Gen Z and Millennials, increasing 30x and 38x respectively. 
  • Gen Z is shopping for fresh  hues such as "sage green and brown bedroom" (27x greater), "pastel dorm room ideas" (13x) and "peach colour bathroom" (up 20x). They also are looking for aesthetics such as “skate room decor” (30x).
  • Millennials are looking for bright touches in their homes shopping for pops of colours and designs such as "red chairs living room decor" (32x), "blue sectional living room sofas" (up 24x). They are also creating bedrooms to help them relax their minds with searches for "modern boho chic bedroom" (20x) or "crystal room ideas" (29x)
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Methodology:

1 Dynata for Pinterest, UK, 2021 Shopping for fashion and beauty among people who use Pinterest compared to people who don’t use Pinterest but use other platforms, April 2021

2  Trends are calculated by comparing normalized searches within the Shop Tab in May ‘21 to April ‘21 within each generation; Gen Z is ages 18-24, Millennials is ages 25-44; global.